This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Picks and Parlays: Expert NHL Bets Tonight (May 1, 2024)
There are just two National Hockey League playoff games on the schedule for Wednesday night, both from the Western Conference. The Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars meet in Game 5 at American Airlines Center at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers meet at Rogers Place at 10 p.m. ET. Both games can be viewed or streamed on ESPN. Let's get started!
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Best NHL Picks Tonight
Vegas Golden Knights 
at Dallas Stars 
The Golden Knights went on the road for Games 1 and 2 and picked up a pair of road victories. While fans were writing off the Dallas Stars, and looking for a potential series sweep with Vegas hosting Games 3 and 4 at home, the Stars had other plans.
Dallas won the next two games at The Fortress, and the road team is now a perfect 4-for-4 in this series. In fact, the road team has won six in a row in this series this season, if you toss in a pair of Vegas regular-season road wins in Dallas. And the road team has been victorious in eight of the past nine meetings overall, so this is nothing new.
All of that being said, I think Jake Oettinger (2-2-0, 2.38 GAA, .907 SV% - 2024 playoffs) and the Stars get the job done on home ice in this pivotal Game 5. It's hard to believe that the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights could get pushed to the brink of elimination after winning the first two games of the series on the road, but that's what would happen with a Dallas win. The home team has to win sometime, and the Stars come in with a ton of confidence.
Oettinger made 32 saves in the 4-2 victory in Game 4 in Las Vegas, while Logan Thompson (2-2-0, 2.35 GAA, .921 SV%) was good for 28 stops on 31 shots. Roope Hintz added the empty-net goal, his first of the series, and he more than doubled (+210) the money for bettors who had him as an Anytime Goal Scorer, by the way.
Back Dallas, and lean low on the total, in Game 5.
- Stars ML (-154 at FanDuel)
- Under 5.5 (+105 at ESPN Bet)
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Los Angeles Kings 
at Edmonton Oilers 
Looking to the Kings and Oilers series, Los Angeles is facing a trip to the handshake line after losing a pair of games on home ice.
After a 7-4 victory in Game 1 by the Oilers, a 5-4 OT win by the Kings in Edmonton in Game 2, and a 6-1 whitewashing by the Oilers in L.A. for Game 3, somebody turned off the offensive spigot prior to Game 4.
The Kings turned to veteran David Rittich to turn the tide of the series, as Cam Talbot (1-2-0, 5.30 GAA, .861 SV%) was tramped in the first three games of the series. Rittich allowed just one goal to Evan Bouchard, and a power-play goal at that, but it was all Edmonton needed to get the job done. The Oilers won 1-0, and take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to Rogers Place for Game 5.
I don't like the fact the Oilers will cost you nearly two times your potential return on the moneyline. Also, I feel as if the desperate Kings should be able to keep this one close, as they fight to keep their season alive. We saw desperate teams come up big on Tuesday night with their backs against the wall, and L.A. should be able to keep it close, perhaps even forcing overtime to decide things.
- Kings +1.5 (-155 at BetMGM)
- Under 6.5 (-125 at DraftKings)
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NHL Parlays Tonight
3-Way Parlay (+428 at FanDuel)
- Stars ML and Under 5.5 vs. Golden Knights +222 - SGP
- Kings PL (+1.5, -156) at Oilers
2-Way Sides Parlay (+170 at FanDuel)
- Stars ML (-154) vs. Golden Knights
- Kings PL (+1.5, -156) at Oilers
